NIH Launches Large-Scale Health Study for Oil Spill Cleanup Workers

A new study that will look at possible health effects of the Gulf of Mexico’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill on 55,000 cleanup workers and volunteers began Feb. 28 in towns across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

The GuLF STUDY (Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study) is the largest health study of its kind ever conducted among cleanup workers and volunteers, and is one component of a comprehensive federal response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The study is being conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is expected to last up to 10 years. Many agencies, researchers, outside experts and members of the local community have provided input into how the study should be designed and implemented.

“Over the last 50 years, there have been 40 known oil spills around the world. Only eight of these spills have been studied for human health effects,” said Dale Sandler, Ph.D., chief of the Epidemiology Branch at NIEHS and principal investigator of the study. “The goal of the GuLF STUDY is to help us learn if oil spills and exposure to crude oil and dispersants affect physical and mental health.”

Over time, the GuLF STUDY will generate important data that may help inform policy decisions on health care and health services in the region. Findings also may influence responses to other oil spills in the future.

“We are enrolling workers and volunteers because they were closest to the disaster and had the highest potential for being exposed to oil and dispersants,” said Sandler.

The GuLF STUDY will reach out to some of the 100,000 people who took the cleanup worker safety training and to others who were involved in some aspect of the oil spill cleanup. The goal is to enroll 55,000 people in the study. Individuals may be eligible for the study if they:

Are at least 21 years old

Did oil spill cleanup work for at least 1 day

Were not directly involved in oil spill cleanup but supported the cleanup effort in some way, or completed oil spill worker training

The Process

The study was developed to make participation as easy and convenient as possible. It also incorporates safeguards to protect the privacy and confidentiality of personal information.

All participants will be asked to complete an initial telephone interview and provide updated contact information once a year. During the telephone interview, participants will be asked questions about the work they did with the oil spill cleanup and about their health, lifestyle and job history. About 20,000 participants will be invited to take part in the second phase of the study, which involves a home visit and follow-up telephone interviews in subsequent years. Small samples of blood, urine, toenail clippings, hair and house dust will be collected during the home visit, and clinical measurements such as blood pressure, height and weight, urine glucose and lung function will be taken.

If at any time in the course of the study the need for mental or medical health care is evident, participants will be given information on available health care providers or referred for care. The study leaders have up-to-date information on providers and a medical referral process in place as part of the study. Materials will be available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

The NIH is funding the GuLF STUDY. A small part of the funds have been provided by BP made to NIH specifically for research on the health of Gulf area communities following the spill, though BP is not involved in the study.